Rental Housing In Massachusetts

Massachusetts Rental Overview

The population of Massachusetts, according to the 2010 Census, is 6,547,629.
The total number of households in the state is 2,547,075.
The average household size for Massachusetts is 2.4.
The total number of renter households
in the state is 959,917 which means that
37.69% of
households are renter households.
Compared to all other U.S. States, Massachusetts
is ranked 20th in percentage of renters.
District Of Columbia is ranked first with 57.99%
and West Virginia ranks last with only 26.55%.

According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the median rent paid among all renter households and
housing types and sizes in Massachusetts is $1,063 per month.
Ranked against all other states in the country, Massachusetts ranks 43rd
for the highest median rent. Hawaii ranks first at
$1,387 and West Virginia ranks last at
$618.
Though rents are set more locally, statewide median rents provide a basic outlook of housing costs for each state.

The number of vacant rental units in Massachusetts is 46,564
representing a vacancy rate of 6.4%. Among all U.S. states,
Massachusetts ranks 16th for the lowest vacancy rates.
New York ranks first with a vacancy rate of
4.5%
and South Carolina ranks last with
a vacancy rate of 12.9%.
As lower vacancy rates are an indication of a healthier rental housing
portfolio, Massachusetts’s rental housing portfolio is performing
above
the National average.

Program

Projects

Units

Project Based Section 8

647

55,861

Section 202

209

9,468

Section 811

131

901

Section 515

60

1,845

RDRA

57

1,490

LIHTC

626

43,200

Senior

283

13,760

Public Housing

636

51,304

Section 8 Voucher

134‡

81,906

Total

1,428

120,964

Note: The total does not necessarily equal the sum of each program as some properties may participate in multiple funding programs.

‡This program is not project based, instead Housing Authorities provide vouchers to individual renters.
In the state of Massachusetts there are 134 independent Housing Authorities that may issue these vouchers.

The average number of units per property for affordable rentals in Massachusetts is 84.70. The largest market for federally assisted housing in
the state is Boston
at 18,274 units and the smallest is
Buckland at
3
unit(s).
283 apartment properties provide housing for seniors containing 13,760 units.
Of the 120,964 units, 98,601 units include some form of rental assistance (like Section 8)
to make rent more affordable for very low income families.

There are 14 counties or county equivalents in Massachusetts.
The county or county equivalent with the largest population is Middlesex County at 1,503,085
and the smallest is Nantucket County at 10,172.
The county or county equivalent with the largest percentage of renter households is Suffolk County at 64.74%
and The county or county equivalent with lowest portion of renters is Barnstable County at 22.6%.

The density of Federal housing assistance at the county level in Massachusetts ranges from a low of
21.1 units per 1,000 renter households in
Nantucket County to a high of 405.9 units per
1,000 renter households in Suffolk County. The average Federal housing assistance density
for all counties in Massachusetts is 170.3 units
per 1,000 renter households.

The table below summarizes the Federally assisted housing located in each county in Massachusetts.
All major affordable housing programs are provided on a county by county basis.
Click on the name of the county to see a more in depth summary of affordable housing in that county.

Affordable Housing by City in Massachusetts ranked by federally assisted units

We are tracking 261 cities in Massachusetts
that have at least one Federally assisted housing community.
With a population of 6,547,629, East Wareham
has the largest population of these cities.
There are 1 Federally assisted housing communities in East Wareham
which are home to about 32 families, most of which are lower income families.

The table below provides a summary of all Federally assisted housing communities by city in Massachusetts.
All the major affordable housing funding program breakdowns are provided.
Click on the city name to get a full affordable rental housing report for each city in Massachusetts.

Housing Authorities in Massachusetts ranked by assisted units and vouchers

Housing authorities are governmental (or quasi-governmental) entities
that manage various Federal housing assistance programs on behalf of the Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These programs include Public Housing,
Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and other programs.

There are 134 housing authorities in Massachusetts.
These housing authorities own and operate an aggregate of
public housing units and administer Section 8 rental vouchers.
Of the 134 housing authorities, 45.5% have both a public housing and Section 8 program.

The largest housing authority in Massachusetts by total housing assistance units managed is Boston Housing Authority
with 24,618 public housing units under management
(10,404 public housing units
and 14,214 Section 8 vouchers).

The table below provides a list of housing authorities in Massachusetts and
includes each housing authorities public housing and Section 8 voucher count.
Click on the housing authority name to get more details on the housing authority.

Federally Assisted Affordable Rental Housing

According to our affordable housing data, Massachusetts has a total of
1,428 rental properties that receive at least one form of Federal housing assistance and are at least partially reserved for low income persons.
These properties contain an estimated 120,964 rental housing units.
(Note: Some of the Federal source data we use does not include total unit count for a property -- most notably the LIHTC database
-- so the number of units listed here may be less than the actual.)

The Project Based Section 8 Program is the largest assistance program by unit count.
The program assists 55,861 in Massachusetts.
The charts below lay out how each Federal program impact affordable housing in Massachusetts.